Beautiful Morning

The reality of things is that no one really knows anything except how they feel. How they feel about their work, how they feel about their life, how they feel about the people in it. All things are a matter of perception. All things are gray at best, or maybe an infinite amalgam of colors, different to each and every person who sees them.

My parents only ever had three rules when it came to growing up. In no order, these rules included being a good person, providing for your family, and being happy. If my brother and I could do those things, then my parents would have done a good job in their own minds. There was no required job we had to pursue, no salary we had to earn in order to show our worth. Happiness, integrity, and love were all we were ever supposed to achieve. The rest was superfluous at best.

Earlier in my life- up until very recently- I thought there had to be more. I thought that achievement was more than this short list of virtues. And of course it is ... but it isn't. Not really. What more could one achieve in life except for those things? Is there a greater calling out there than the love of your family? Is there a better way to achieve happiness than in the arms of someone you love? Is there anything more rewarding than seeing gratitude in someone's eyes?

There is no right or wrong answer to the question of life. If you believe in my parents' rules, there can't be. All we have are the people around us and the innate qualities that make us who we are. And if you can find in yourself the things you need- courage, perseverance, hope, faith, love- and you act on those things ... I need to believe that we'll all be okay. We'll all make it.

At the end of the day, I guess we can really want for nothing more than a warm home, someone to wake up beside and fall in love with every morning, and the excitement that comes from the truth of living. The truth that there is no truth. You can't predict who you'll meet or where you'll go anymore than you can predict which way the wind will blow. The best you can hope for is to rely on your own feelings, your own perception, and never stop striving for the things that matter.

Tomorrow, the sun will rise ... but what a beautiful morning we already have today.